Nailing table for box lidding machines



March 23, 1937.

H. E. TWOM LEY Filed Oct. '7, 1935 llllllllllllllll O U /z o A? m m o o42 Z /0 4 m f i' 1 07' J I w ATTORN YS March 23, 1937. H. E. TWOMLEYNAILING TABLE FOR BOX LIDDING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 7,1935 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 23, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT NAILING TABLE FORBOX LIDDING MACHINES Application October 7, 1935, Serial No. 43,904

2 Claims.

My invention relates to machines for applying lids to boxes and hasparticular reference to a box supporting or nailing table which may beemployed to support the box in position to be nailed.

In connection with machines employed to apply covers to boxes,particularly boxes which are filled or overfilled with contents,considerable pressure is required to compress the cover down upon thebox preparatory to nailing, as well as the pressure which is employed todrive the nails through the cover boards into the ends of the boxes.

During the passage of boxes into and out of the machines, it isnecessary that these boxes be supported upon some type of conveyorsystem which permits their being readily drawn into the machine andreadily removed therefrom, it being a common practice in machines ofthis character to form the table upon which the box rests during thenailing operation as a section of roller type conveyor. However, whensuch roller type conveyor is used in these machines the rollers must beof sufiicient rigidity to support the box and also to resist the thrustsplaced thereon during the pressing and nailing of the cover to the boxand, in addition thereto, it is necessary that the rollers be accuratelyspaced along the length of the box supporting table so as to provide aroller underneath the exact end of the box to insure support for the endof the box during the lidding and nailing operations.

t is therefore an object of my invention to provide a box liddingmachine of the character set forth with a nailing table which may act asa roller conveyor for the entrance and exit of boxes and which alsoprovides a rigid support for the box ends during the nailing operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a nailing table of thecharacter set forth in the preceding paragraph, wherein the rollers ofthe roller conveyor are so mounted that they may be depressed due to thethrust of the lid pressing and nailing mechanisms without producingundue strain upon the axles or bearings about which the rollers rotate.

Another object of the invention is to provide a nailing table of thecharacter set forth in which each of the rollers forming the rollerconveyor is individually suspended upon resilient mounting meanspermitting each of these rollers to be independently depressed whenpressure is exerted upon the box or its nailing cover and in which thenailing table is provided with rigid means for engaging the box ends tosupport the box ends during the lid pressing and nailing operations.

Another object of the invention is to provide a nailing table of thecharacter set forth in the preceding paragraph in which the rigid boxend supporting members are adjustable along the length of the nailingtable to adapt the same for different lengths of boxes.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from a study of thefollowing specifications, read in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein Figure 1 is a vertical elevational view of a boxlidding machine equipped with a box supporting or nailing tableconstructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan View of the machine shown in Fig. 1,illustrating the box supporting table;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along line IIIIII of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional View taken along line 1'VIV of Fig. 2; and20 Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view taken along line VV of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawings, I have illustrated a box lidding and nailingmachine which may be of any suitable type well-known in the box liddingart, the particular machine selected for illustrative purposes being amachine adapted to apply lids or covers to overfilled fruit or vegetableboxes, such machine and its operating mechanism being more clearlydescribed in my copending application Serial No. 18,767, filed April 29,1935, for Drive for box lidding machines. Such machines comprise,generally, a suitable frame consisting of a pair of side frame members Iand 2, located on opposite sides of the machine and interconnected bymeans of cross members 3. The upwardly projecting portions of the sideframes I and 2 constitute vertical bearings upon which a cross frame 4is adjustably mounted, the cross frame 4 bearing the lid pressing andnailing mechanism employed to press the lids upon the boxes and to nailthe same to the ends of the boxes.

While the detail of the lid pressing and nailing mechanisms form no partof the present invention, and therefore need not be specificallydescribed in detail herein, it should be understood that these machinesgenerally include a pair of forwardly extending members or arms 5 and 6,located respectively near each side of the machine.

The arm 5 constiutes the mounting means supporting a pressing head 1adapted to reciprocate toward and away from the arm 5 upon suitableslide bearings 8, the pressing head 1 being normally urged away from thearm 5 by means of a toggle link and spring assembly 9 more fullydescribed in my copending application. The pressing head i carries aplurality of nail chucks I!) arranged in a row forwardly and rearwardlyof the machine through which project a row of nail punches secured upona laterally extending portion I2 of the arm 5 so that as the pressinghead I reciprocates relative to the arm 5 the nail punches I will bemoved through the chucks to drive nails from the chucks through thecover boards and into the ends of the boxes.

The machine illustrated herein is of the type wherein the nail punchesare held stationary and the nail chucks are mounted to reciprocaterelative to the nail punches so that as the nail chucks are lifted bythe upward movement of the pressing head 7 the nail chucks are raised onthe drivers, allowing the nails to be pushed from the chucks into theupwardly approaching box.

The arm 6 supports a similar pressing head l3 similarly supportedthereon and including nail chucks M through which nail punches l5project to perform a similar nailing function at the opposite end of thebox.

The side frames and 2 constitute supporting bearing members upon which anailing table It is mounted for vertical reciprocation toward and awayfrom the pressing heads I and I3.

By referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2 it will be observed that thenailing table or box supporting table l6 includes a pair of longitudinalrails i1 and I8 connected together at their ends by means of cross railsl9 and to form a substantially rectangular frame upon which may bemounted a plurality of rollers 2| constituting, with the frame, asection of roller conveyor whereby boxes may be readily drawn into themachine and readily ejected therefrom.

The box supporting table or nailing table I6 is mounted upon a pair ofuprights 22 and 23 which are interconnected at their lower ends as shownin Fig. 1 by a cross brace 24, the outer ends of the cross brace 24having a pair of rollers 25 and 26 thereon operating in grooves 21 and28 in the side frames and 2, respectively. A pair of chains 29 and 30,connected to the cross brace 24, extend over pulleys 3| and 32 and areconnected as at 33 and 34 to a drive shaft 35. The drive shaft 35 isoperated by suitable motor (not shown) mounted upon a motor supportingplate 36 connected to suitable gear 31 to drive the shaft 3'5 wheneverthe circuit to the motor is closed by means of the control switch 38actuated by a control pedal 39. Thus a box 4|] may be drawn into themachine over the roller conveyor formed by the box supporting or nailingtable l6 until the box has arrived in a centralized position in themachine; that is, with each of its ends disposed below the nail chucksH) and M, respectively, whereupon the operator of the machine mayactuate the pedal 39 to cause the drive shaft 35 to rotate, winding upthe chains 29 and 30 and elevating the nailing table l9 to bring the boxupwardly toward the pressing heads 1 and I3.

A suitable cover may be placed between the cover holding members 4| and42 on the pressing heads 1 and I3, respectively, so that as the box ismoved upwardly thereby the box ends will engage the cover and the coverwill then be pressed by the box tightly against the nail chucks IE andI4 while continued upward movement of the nailing table i6 will causethe pressing heads I and i3 to be elevated toward the cross frame 5, thestationary nail punches II and 5 engaging the ends of the nails in thechucks as the chucks are lifted and as the upward movement of the boxcontinues, the nails held stationary by the nail drivers 5! and I5, willbe pressed through the cover ends and into the box ends as the boxcontinues its upward movement.

As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the pressure whichwill be exerted upon the box ii as it presses upwardly against the coverand against the resistance of the nail chucks ID and it in an effort toelevate the pressing heads I and i3, is considerable and must beresisted by rigid construction on the nailing table I6. I prefer,however, to transmit this force directly to the frame of the nailingtable |6 without requiring the rollers 2| to resist this thrust and forthis purpose I mount each of the rollers upon the nailing table frame bymeans of yielding bearing members illustrated particularly in Figs. 3and 4.

It will be observed that the rollers 2| may be mounted upon an axle 43or may be formed integrally with the rollers 2|, the axles or bearingmembers 33 constituting the axes about which the rollers rotate. Theends of the axles or bearing members l3 extend into bearing blocks Mwhich are preferably mounted for vertical reciprocation within avertical bore 45 extending upwardly in a bearing support bracket 86, oneof which is employed for each end of each of the rollers 25. The bearingblock 44 is normally urged to its uppermost position, as shown in Fig.4, by means of a drive spring 5! held within the bore as by means of ascrew plug 43, the screw plug being adjustable inwardly and outwardly ofthe bore ii": to adjust the force of the spring ll resisting downwardmovement of the block :34 within the bore. The bearing bracket it isprovided with an elongated slot 49 through which the axle 43 projects sothat the axle is free to move up and down relative to the bearing block46 as pressure is exerted upon the roller 2|.

The bearing block is provided with a laterally extending recess 5%preferably of such dimensions as will permit it to straddle thelongitudinal rails l? or iii, the bearing bracket being held in placeupon the rails H or I8 by means of a suitable set screw 5|. It willtherefore be observed that each end of the roller 2| is mounted ayielding bearing member which will permit the roller 2| to yielddownwardly when pressure is exerted upon the box due to the resistanceit encounters by pressing upwardly on the cover and the cover pressingand nailing mechanisms. In order, however, to support the box endsduring the lid pressing and nailing operations, I provide box endsupporting members or anvils 52 and 53 extending across the nailingtable it, such anvil members being preferably formed of relatively rigidstock, recessed or enlarged as indicated at 52a. (see Fig. 5) at eitherend of the anvil to receive the upper edge of the rails IT or E3, a lug54 being formed upon the outer ends of the anvils to receive a set screw55 by which the anvils may be clamped in the desired position upon theside frame of the nailing table.

By employment of the anvil structure hereinbefore described, it will beobserved that the anvils may be spaced along the length of the nailingtable frame gradually positioning them below the nail chucks l0 and i4and therefore accurately aligning them with the ends of the box to beoperated upon by the machine. It will also be observed that the anvilsare adjustable to permit them to accurately align with different lengthsof boxes so that the nailing table may be adjusted for operation uponone series of boxes of one length and then readily adjusted to operateupon a series of boxes of different length. At this point it should benoted that the arms 5 and 5 support the lid pressing and nailingmechanisms and are likewise adjustable inwardly and outwardly relativeto the center of the machine to thus adjust the location of the nailchucks M for various lengths of boxes.

In the operation of the nailing table as hereinbefore described a boxmay be drawn into the machine until it is accurately centered below thenail chucks l0 and I4, a suitable box stop or guiding mechanism 56, 51being usually provided for this purpose. The box ends will then bealigned immediately above the anvils 52 and 53, as will be observedfro-m an inspection of Figs. 3 and 4, the box resting upon the uppersurface of the rollers 2| being spaced slightly above the anvils 52 and53. However, when the nailing table is elevated and pressure is exertedupon the box 40, the rollers 2|, lying between the anvils i liddingmachines in which each of the rollers on the nailing table over whichthe box may readily be drawn is individually suspended to individuallyyield, thereby adapting these rollers to irregularities which may bepresent in the bottom of the box so that no one of the rollers willreceive a greater pressure than the other rollers, each of the rollersyielding in accordance with the contour of the bottom of the box whenpressure is applied to the box. This feature is of importance in thelidding of boxes which have been filled with contents suflicient tocause the bottom of the box to be sprung outwardly or bowed outwardlywhen pressure is applied tothe cover, the central rollers being moved togreater dis tances than the rollers near the ends of the box bottoms aspressure is exerted upon the box and permitting the employment of axlesof lighter construction than would be possible if all of the rollerswere required to be depressed the same amount.

Also, by individually suspending each of the rollers upon the frame, therollers may be adjusted longitudinally of the frame so as to adapt themfor different lengths of boxes and permitting relatively wideadjustments of the anvil members to conform with relatively greatdifferent box lengths.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of myinvention, I do not wish to be limited to any of the details ofconstruction shown herein, except as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a machine for applying lids to boxes including mechanism forpressing covers into contact with the ends of the box, a box supportingtable including a frame, a plurality of rollers mounted upon axesextending transversely of said frame to the direction of movement ofboxes into and out of said machine, individual bearing members for eachof said rollers, means mounting said bearing members for verticalyielding movement relative to said frame under pressure exerted upon abox resting upon said rollers, means adjustably securing said bearingmounting means upon said frame for movement along said frame in thedirection of movement of boxes over said box supporting table, and rigidmeans extending transversely of said table below the surface of saidrollers to engage boxes on said i table when said rollers yield underpressure exerted upon said box.

2. In a machine for applying lids to boxes including mechanism forpressing covers into contact with the ends of the box, a box supportingtable including a frame, a plurality of rollers mounted upon axesextending transversely of said frame to the direction of movement ofboxes into and out of said machine, individual bearing members for eachof said rollers, means mounting J said bearing members for verticalyielding movement relative to said frame under pressure exerted upon abox resting upon said rollers, means adjustably securing said bearingmounting means upon said frame for movement along said frame in thedirection of movement of boxes over said box supporting table, rigidmeans extending transversely of said table below the surface of saidrollers to engage boxes on said table when said rollers yield underpressure exerted upon said box, and means adjustably mounting said rigidmeans for adjustable movement along said frame in the direction ofmovement of boxes thereover.

HERBERT E. TWOMLEY.

